Cardiff City v Aston Villa Betting Tips: Villains to get positive result in Welsh capital

The respective managers of these teams, Neil Warnock and Steve Bruce, are known as two of the best bosses in the division who know how to get the most out of their players – even if they do not play the prettiest football. Additionally, they go into this form with a fair bit of confidence as they both picked up results they will be pleased with in the opening round last weekend.

After finding themselves in relegation trouble before Neil Warnock’s arrival last term, Cardiff ended up finishing in a respectable 12th. The 68-year-old has a good track record for taking teams up from the Championship and so his side will be looking to do so this season, albeit under the radar.

As mentioned earlier, Warnock is known for playing a rather defensive style of football and it is no coincidence that they kept four clean sheets in their final five league games last year. However, they did also find the back of the net 60 times in the 2016/17 so they are clearly useful in front of goal. They have signed some very experienced attacking players this summer with Lee Tomlin and Danny Ward coming in from Bristol City and Rotherham United respectively which adds to their firepower.

Before losing their final home match of the season, the Bluebirds were undefeated in six matches, winning four of them. In fact, during Warnock’s tenure last season, Cardiff only lost four matches league matches at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Villa have once again undergone a transformation this summer and, although they have not spent a lot of money on players, they have signed some very experienced heads such as Glenn Whelan, Ahmed Elmohamady and, most notably, John Terry. There can be no doubt that promotion is the intention this season.

Bruce’s side had huge problems in the final third last season with just 47 goals scored in 46 league games – the fourth worst record in the division. However, they will hope that January signing Scott Hogan, who has a very good record at this level, finally settles down into the team. Additionally, the aforementioned Elmohamady adds a very useful attacking option from full back. Defensively, Bruce will have his side organised as per usual and the signing of John Terry is obviously a huge boost to that.

The Villains won their first away match of the season in the League Cup in midweek, however, in terms of the Championship, their form away from Villa Park was woeful last season with just four victories in 23 matches. However, the atmosphere around this Villa team is a lot better this time around and, with their experience, they will no doubt perform better this year.

This game could be close but, despite Cardiff’s impressive home form, I think Villa have the better chance here. They now have a lot of experience in the side whilst the players who struggled with the demands of the Championship last year should now have adjusted. Cardiff may have made a couple of decent signings but I still feel Villa will have too much and should pick up a result here. Villa to Win – Draw No Bet seems very good value at a profitable 113/100 seems good value.